One way or another, it appears that two-time All-Pro cornerback Jaire Alexander and the Green Bay Packers are headed for a split.
General manager Brian Gutekunst was noncommittal about Alexander’s future when he spoke to reporters Tuesday at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis, but sources confirmed Wednesday that the team is willing to listen to trade offers.
NFL Network reported the Packers already have had trade conversations about Alexander.
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“We’ve never really allowed agents to go out and talk to teams,” Gutekunst told reporters at the combine. “I think that’s kind of [one of the] ones that probably happens anyway. And Jaire’s got a great agent. If we ever went down that route, I think it would be very easy to work with him and his team. I don’t really expect that, but we’ve never really done that.
“I think it’s something that if we were going to trade a player, we would do that and it would be the conversation between me and the other team.”
Alexander, 28, has played in only seven games each of the past two seasons because of various injuries and a one-game suspension for conduct detrimental to the team. He underwent knee surgery to repair a PCL injury late in the season and would not have been able to return even if the Packers had made the Super Bowl, Gutekunst said.
He is expected to make a full recovery and be ready to play this coming season.
The 2018 first-round pick has two years remaining on a four-year, $84 million contract that, at the time, made him the highest-paid cornerback in the NFL. However, that deal contains no more guaranteed money. Any team that traded for him could also renegotiate the terms that currently call for him to be paid $17.5 million in 2025 and $19.5 million in 2026.
The Packers would pick up $6.8 million in salary cap space if they traded him early this offseason. They could pick up more cap space if they released him with a post-June 1 designation.
There have been strong indications since late last season that Alexander’s time in Green Bay could be over. Multiple team sources have privately expressed their frustration with Alexander’s inability to stay healthy and/or play through injuries.
Alexander declined to speak with reporters on the last day of media availability at the end of the season, saying he had “nothing good to say” and that he did not know if he would be back with the team in 2025.
“We’ll see; we’re working through that,” Gutekunst said Tuesday when asked if Alexander will be on the team this coming season. “He certainly could be, but I think we’ll work through that as we go. We’ve got to get him out there now. I think obviously we’ve talked about there’s been a lot of frustration on his part. He wants to be out there badly, and not being able to be out there at his best has frustrated him, and that has frustrated our football team, too, because we’re better with him. But we’ll see.”
